So much going on in the world seems very negative, including UN scientists saying it’s ‘now or never’ to limit global warming. Things can feel pretty bleak. It surely must help to find something, even small, you can do to make a change for good.

The ‘REsolve’ exhibition at Kirkcaldy Galleries uses examples of creative work to illustrate the 4 main themes of the Circular Economy. These argue that it would massively improve the environment if we moved away from the current ‘Linear Economy’ – take-make-dispose – to a circular one. In this, waste and pollution are designed out, materials are kept in use for as long as possible, and the natural environment is regenerated, rather than depleted.

The exhibition has been running now 6 weeks and we’ve asked visitors if after viewing it, they feel there are any changes along the lines of a Circular Economy that they could make in their lives. We’ve had some great answers:

• Share tools with family members so don’t need to buy more than one
• Think before buying anything, making sure that I really need it, and if I do, I will buy secondhand first, and if not possible, eco-friendly/circular
• Donated an unwanted guitar to the OnFife music library
• The next garden tool we need to buy, we will hire instead

Here are some of the thought-provoking artworks on view:

Shown are Stefanie Cheong’s Zero Waste jewellery; the underside of one of Sara Howard’s ‘Circular Ceramics’, made from industrial waste; Janet Hughes of Balgarvie Weaving’s beautiful woven cloth from ‘Brockie’ wool, dyed with homegrown madder (photo Studio RoRo); Carol Sinclair’s ‘Tipping Point’ mobile made from recycled plastics & a new material that combines powdered studio waste and Polylactic Acid (photo Neil Hanna); Deirdre Nelson’s upcycled, secondhand t-shirt, embroidered with Platform21’s Repair Manifesto (photo Studio RoRo).

The Repair Manifesto is a list of what you can do to keep things going by repairing them in different ways, rather than throwing them out and buying new.

To find out more about all the artists in the exhibition, visit its webpage.

If you’d like to research ways of making your lifestyle more sustainable, we have a webpage of REsources you can check out, including Zero Waste Scotland and Greener Kirkcaldy. Let us know if you’re aware of others we’ve not included!

Also, if you’re an artist trying to make your practice more sustainable, take a look at our Artists’ Environmental Resource. We’re happy to share information about what you do to be more environmentally aware via the Sharespace – just get in touch.

Another excellent comment, made by an exhibition visitor, was that Marmite was already recycling brewery waste to make its product in 1902. So there’s nothing new about being circular in life or work. But time is really running out now, and even small changes help.